tui e mea e tua, ma adore
by alois
Summary: After his elder brother goes rogue in a fit of jealousy, Prince Akaito is forced to flee his home. Found by a pair of faefolk in the forest, he tries to piece his life back together and retake control of the Kingdom. Akaito/Mikuo endgame.


Okay so, I haven't written anything in SO LONG, but I really wanted to write something a la a cheesy fantasy story so here it is. I apologize for how rough my writing is because this was done how many years since I last attempted to write a full fic? Like 4 years hahaha so it's pretty dialogue heavy and unbeta'd. Enjoy, though!

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_He's frantic, hands shaking as he attempts to hold on to his horse's reigns for dear life, dodging all sorts of things within the forest as they bolt through it. There's shouting behind him, the trees around him glowing with the fire of lanterns as he tries his best to lose the guards chasing him. But his horse can only be pushed so far, and then there's arrows flying, pain searing in his body and he blanks out, falling to the ground._

"Is he waking?" A soft, high pitched voice spoke from the left of the man stirring from rest on the bed. With sleep still heavy on his eyelids and dull pain radiating from his shoulder and stomach it becomes increasingly difficult to see, but turning his head he could make out two blurry figures. A boy whom the speaking voice must belong to, and another man leaning in the doorway.

"Leave him be, Mikuo. He lost a lot of blood and needs his rest." The brown haired man in the doorway calls out, causing an indignant huff to arise from the other sitting near him. Had he not felt terribly confused he might have found their bickering endearing, but he really needs to sit up to study his surroundings better and with a sharp intake of breath the redhead attempts to lift himself onto his elbows. The pain in his shoulder flares up again and he drops back to the bed with a yelp, eyes screwing shut in panic. Memories of the night before with him on his horse, wildly galloping into the woods as guardsmen chased him and arrows flying floods his mind and he grits his teeth.

"You'll start bleeding again doing that, have you never been told not to put pressure on your wounds?" The boy scolds, aggravation laced in his tone as he reaches for the salve on the table by the bed. The man turns once again to face him, the shock from the pain waking him. Now he could see a bit clearer, making out the cozy setting of the cabin he was lying in. It was night, as the curtains on the windows were now shut and candles were lit around the bedroom he lay in.

The boy- Mikuo, who was now reaching for the bandages around his torso met his gaze. He was rather young looking, with tousled teal hair framing his rounded face and big sea green eyes that glinted with worry as he continued his task. The man on the bed hissed as the air hit the open wound but calmed as the cool green paste was spread over it, making the throbbing of the pain slowly subside. As Mikuo turned to reach for the new bandages, the man noticed the pointed ears that were previously obscured by his hair.

"Y- You're an el- elf?" He speaks raggedly, red eyes wide. If he was currently being housed by faerie folk, then he must have made it quite far from the castle and more importantly, his family. If they were even still alive.

"Well, Meito, I must say. You sure picked a winner." Mikuo says non-chalantly, but there is a hint of amusement in his voice and his lips curl into a small smile. He motions for the other male, a tall brunet with more angular features and red eyes like his own to come closer, and Meito steps to the opposite side of the bed, slowly helping the redheaded man up so Mikuo can finish redressing the bandages.

"Is that why you've been doting on him for these past days?" Meito asks, and Mikuo lets out a short laugh in response.

"It's not like that, _dear brother_. In case you forgot, I'm a wood nymph and it is in my _nature_ to tend to the wounded."

"Is that what you're calling it now? I didn't realize staring longingly at this poor man all day was you _tending_ to him." The elder of the two teases, and Mikuo ducks his head for a moment, cheeks reddening.

"Forgive my ignorance," he starts, trying to save the boy from embarrassment as Mikuo lifts his gaze. "But are nymphs not all women? How can you be a male?"

"You humans have very funny ideas on what being a nymph is." Mikuo says. "A lot of your kind believes that we simply consist of women that prance around the forests naked and attempt to sleep with anything that moves. Most of us are normal, clothed and have no real desire to hang around humans often. Not to mention like you just blurted out, most mistake us for elves anyway." He scrunches his nose in disgust at the thought and the other chuckles. The teal haired male moves to clean the shoulder wound now, and the redhead's smile drops while he remembers what he's doing in these strangers' house to begin with.

"You're quite lucky that my brother found you," Mikuo muses quietly when he notices the other's mood changing, scooping more of the salve onto his fingers as he inspects the wound. "Had he not it is very likely you would have died of either blood loss or poisoning. Those arrows got you good. What were you doing out here to begin with?"

Flashes of the previous night's events play through his mind again and the redhead feels sick.

"Running away," he whispers, looking to the ceiling. "My family was planning a ball in honor of my sister, now Crown Heir because she'd come of age. A- and our eldest brother used the time my father came out on the balcony to make the announcement as an excuse to attempt a seige. He murdered him in front of the townsfolk, proclaiming the rest of our family to be traitors to our customs, because it was not he who would be becoming King after our father passed." He stops to take in a breath before continuing, "He was too unstable, too ruthless. Never had much care for the people of the country and Father had said time and time again he did not trust the kingdom's wellbeing in his hands. That _bastard_ Court mage, Gakupo, my father's supposed best friend, he helped him do it. Set some sort of spell over the guardsmen with orders to kill my mother, my other siblings and I. Any sympathizers within the castle staff as well." The room becomes heavy with silence, none of them knowing fully what to say.

"So you are Prince Akaito, then?" Meito asks after two minutes pass. Akaito nods, swallowing back the bitterness in his throat. "My brother and I don't keep up with human politics much. But King Kaito was always a kind man to our people and I'm truly sorry for your loss."

"What will happen to us now that your brother is in charge?" Mikuo says as he gets up to peek out from the window nervously. "He does not sound like the kind that has much love for fair folk, and combined with that he will most likely be looking for you if he believes you or your siblings are still alive..."

"He was always rather indifferent about the existance of your kind beyond your abilities in magic, so I can't say. But I don't think he believes I am still alive, unless they go back to look for a body in the area your brother found me."

"I covered my tracks," Meito says firmly, to crush any doubt that anyone would be able to trace Akaito back to them. "and we live quite far into the forest. Not quite in Faie, our homeland, but close by the border. It is unlikely they will continue to look for you here." Mikuo nods in agreement, moving to collect the old bloodied bandages before dropping them in the fireplace to burn.

"It is a good thing, too, as I don't want you raising from that bed for at least another day or two until I can see the wounds closing properly. You're welcome to continue to stay with us after you heal as well, of course, we live alone and it's quite nice to be able to interact with someone who's not Meito." Mikuo smiles, and Meito snorts in amusement.

"Yes, I'm sure that is the reason you want to keep him around." That earns him a growl from the younger and a shove out of the doorway as Mikuo leaves the room in a hurry to return to his own, leaving Meito to laugh at his little brother's distress as he puts out the fireplace and candles aside from the one at Akaito's bedside.

"If you need anything, feel free to shout for one of us. Mikuo left a sleeping concotion beside the bed if you have trouble with the pain." Akaito nods and listens for the sound of Meito leaving before realizes he's alone again. Hundreds of thoughts swirl in his mind, what he has to do now, where he has to go. And he doesn't have the energy to deal with it anymore. Using his good arm he reaches for the glass of whatever the teal haired boy's put together and downs it in one gulp. He blows out the candle and simply lays back so sleep can take him.


End file.
